Columbia Journalism School Celebrates a Season of Award-Winning Work
Emmys, Signal Awards and SAJA honors recognize Journalism School students, faculty and alumni for their reporting and storytelling this fall.
At Columbia Journalism School (CJS), the journalists behind award-winning work are also teaching the next generation. Among them is Professor Daniel Alarcón, who contributed to three Signal Award-winning podcasts this fall.
CJS graduates go on to make their own mark, including Audrey Gruber, ’95 M.S., who led News 12 to 26 New York Emmy Awards, the most of any organization. These achievements are among the many the J-School is celebrating this season. Meet a few of the faculty and alumni winners and finalists below.
The 5th Annual Signal Awards
The Signal Awards recognize “the podcasts that define culture.” Professor Daniel Alarcón contributed to three of those shows, honored for their excellence in and advancement of the medium.
Alarcón served as editorial director on Radio Ambulante Studios’ “Las Reinas de Queens,” a 10-episode series documenting the legacy of Lorena Borjas. “Las Reinas de Queens” won gold in the Limited Series & Specials - LGBTQ+ category and was named a Listener’s Choice. As the executive producer of “The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos,” he won gold in the Best New Podcast category. In front of the microphone, an episode of Alarcón and John Green’s “The Away End” won silver in the Individual Episodes - Sports category.
The South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) Awards
For her continuous coverage at The Washington Post of the India-Pakistan conflict, Niha Masih, ‘16 M.S., won SAJA’s Outstanding International Reporting Award.
Duaa e Zahra Shah, ‘25 M.S., was named a finalist in SAJA’s Outstanding Student Journalism Award for her reporting on how New York City’s educators are emotionally supporting the nearly 40,000 migrant children who have recently enrolled in the public school system.
The 69th Annual New York Emmy® Awards
On Saturday, Oct. 10, organizations from across the state gathered in New York City to celebrate the winners of the New York Emmy® Awards. Columbia Journalism School alumni and faculty received awards across several categories.
As Senior Vice President of News and General Manager, Audrey Gruber, ‘95 M.S., led the News 12 team on to win 26 New York Emmy® Awards — the most awards won by any individual organization.
Gabriella Canal, ‘21 M.S. Documentary, won three New York Emmy® Awards for a series she wrote and directed for New York City Tourism + Conventions. Jonathan Durbin, ‘99 M.S., served as the series’ executive producer.
With her team at WCBS-TB, Carolyn Gusoff, ‘85 M.S., won the New York Emmy® Award in the Business/Consumer - News category for “The Law No One Knew.”
2026 Sulzberger Executive Leadership Fellow, Tracy Snyder, won a New York Emmy® Award in the Historical/Cultural - News category for her work on Spectrum News’ “Don't Give Up: Inside the 9/11 Forensics Lab.”
James Ford, ‘01 M.S., won the New York Emmy® Award in the Hard News Report - (No production time limit) category for PIX11’s “It's Like Music.”
Tanya Rivero, ‘04 M.S., won two New York Emmy® Awards—one in the Weekend Newscast - Bilingual category for “Eyewitness News at 11: Brooklyn Bridge Ship Collision” and one in the Evening Newscast - Larger Markets (1-49) - Bilingual category for “Eyewitness News First at 4: Midtown Mass Shooting.”
Plus, the celebration continues with our 2027 Alumni Award winners. Meet this year’s honorees and register for Alumni Weekend 2027 to join fellow alumni in celebrating their achievements.